Putin nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

Russia's president Vladimir Putin was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for preventing an air strike on Syria. (Source: G20/Host Photo Agency/MGN Online)

(RNN) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Putin is among 278 total candidates to receive a nomination, a record high.

The names of nominees are kept secret by the Nobel Committee for 50 years. However, nominating groups often leak their choices to the media.

Putin was nominated by a group called the International Academy of Spiritual Unity and Cooperation of Peoples of the World. The group nominated him for his part in advocating for a non-military solution to punishing the Syrian government for use of chemical weapons on its own people. At the time, the United States said that military action was not off the table if diplomatic efforts failed.

In recent days, Putin ordered an incursion of Ukraine's Crimean region, an act that has been met with condemnation by the U.S.

The Nobel committee met on Tuesday to come up with a short list of candidates. It's unclear if Putin made the cut, but if so, the committee will likely weigh recent events in Ukraine when considering his nomination.

The Nobel Committee does not allow a person to self-nominate. Potential nominators include former Nobel winners, members of international courts and national assemblies and active and former members of the Nobel Committee, among others.

A winner will be announced in October with the prize being officially awarded in December.

The prize has had its share of controversial nominees through the years, including Adolf Hitler, Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez and Josef Stalin.